Coordinates: 50°51′23″N 4°21′33″E / 50.85639°N 4.35917°E / 50.85639; 4.35917

Dexia Tower
The Dexia Tower seen from the north
Information
Location	Rogier Square, Brussels, Belgium
Status	Complete
Constructed	2002-2006
Opening	November 21, 2006[1]
Use	Office
Height
Roof	137 metres (450 ft)[2][3]
Technical details
Floor count	38[2][1]
Floor area	111,903 square metres (1,204,510 sq ft)[3]

The Dexia Tower (French: tour Dexia, Dutch: Dexia-toren) is a skyscraper located in the Northern Quarter central business district of Brussels, Belgium. It owes its name to its current tenant, the bank Dexia. It is the third tallest building in Belgium.

It is built on the site of the Rogier International Centre (French: Centre International Rogier), also called the Martini Tower, which was formerly the tallest building in Belgium, but was demolished in 2001.^[3] Constructed between 2002 and 2006, the Dexia Tower is 137 m tall. It was originally planned to be 179 m tall, but the proposal was rejected because the height was thought to be excessive.^[3] The Dexia Tower is also one of the few towers in Brussels whose roof is not horizontal, instead being made up of three inclined sections. It is also one of the only towers in the world to have a fully glass roof. Dexia claims that the opposite sloping of the roofs are reminiscent of the stylized letter X in the Dexia logo.^[1]

[edit] Lighting

The Dexia Tower from the south during a light show

The building has 6000 windows, and 4200 of these are equipped with an average of 12 lightbulbs, each having a red, green and blue LED, allowing a broad palette of colours to be formed. These are lit up to form colourful displays, with each window acting as a pixel. To minimize power consumption, the LEDs only illuminate the outside of the closed blinds, and the reflection off the blinds illuminates the window.^[1] Usually the display is just abstract patterns or the temperature, but on special occasions and major holidays, customized displays are shown. Due to the late-2000s recession, the lighting has been greatly reduced, and the displays are now on for only 10 minutes an hour.^[1]

[edit] See also

• Dexia

[edit] References

v • d • e Tallest buildings and structures in Belgium Skyscrapers South Tower  · Finance Tower  · Dexia Tower  · Madou Plaza Tower  · Astro Tower  · North Galaxy Towers  · World Trade Center  · Belgacom Towers  · KBC Tower Radio and TV towers VRT Zendstation Egem  · Sint-Pieters-Leeuw Tower  · Zendmast Ruiselede (destroyed)  · Wavre Transmitter Other Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp  · Church of Our Lady, Bruges  · Brussels Justice Palace  · Atomium  · Saint Martin's Cathedral, Ypres  · Saint Vincent Church  · Church of Our Lady of Laeken  · Brussels Town Hall  · Pont de Wandre